Phou Poy Rice Mill Safeguards Due Diligence Report

Safeguards Due Diligence Report

Project Number: 44321-013

July 2020

Cambodia: Climate Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development Program (Revised Due Diligence Report for Establishment of Paddy Drying and Storage Facility and Supply of Equipment for Phou Poy Rice Mill)

Prepared by Ministry of Economy and Finance for the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Asian Development Bank.

This safeguards due diligence report is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature.

In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.

MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND FINANCE

Program Management Office (PMO) Climate Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development Program (Rice-SDP)

Due Diligence Report on Social Safeguard of Paddy Drying and Storage (PDS) Facility for Phou Poy Rice Mill at Pou Pir Village, Kear Commune, Moung Ruessei District, Battambang Province

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MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND FINANCE

Program Management Office (PMO) Climate Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development Program (Rice-SDP)

Due Diligence Report

Social Safeguard of Paddy Drying and Storage (PDS) Facility for Phou Poy Rice Mill

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I. Introduction

1. This due diligence report (DDR) on social safeguards of paddy drying, and storage (PDS) Facility for Phou Poy Rice Mill is a new report to replace the existing DDR approved by ADB on 6 December 2019. The existing DDR was prepared for the PDS Facility proposed to be constructed within Phou Poy Rice Mill, located at Chumnik Village, Anlong Vil Commune, Sangkae District, Battambang Province. However, before the actual construction of the Facility can start at the proposed site, the villagers utilizing the project level grievance redress mechanism complaint to the commune councils on possible dust nuisance from expansion of the Rice Miller’s existing rice mill business facilities. The commune council informed the Rice Miller about the complaint and requested the Miller to relocate the PDS Facility. The Rice Miller agreed to the request of the villagers and commune council and submitted a request letter to the Program Management Office (PMO) requesting relocation of the proposed PDS Facility to another site owned by the Miller, located at Pou Pir Village, Kear Commune, Moung Ruessei District, Battambang Province. The new site is about 35km from the earlier proposed site. Upon receiving the request, the PMO conducted a meeting with the Rice Miller where the Miller informed that the villagers and local authorities at the new location welcome the establishment of the PDS Facility and that the Miller would get more business and marketing opportunities at the new location. The PMO agreed to the Rice Miller’s request and initiated review of the design of the Facility and prepared safeguard documents (IEE & DDR) for the new location. The DD & CS firm has confirmed that there will not be any changes to the design of the Facility. The request letter of the Rice Miller for relocation of proposed PDS Facility and complaint letter from villagers are attached as annex VI.

II. Summary of Public Consultation

2. The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has received loans and grants financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other sources towards the cost of the Climate-Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development Program ("Rice-SDP"). The Rice-SDP supports the implementation of the ‘Policy on the Promotion of Paddy production and Rice Export’ of the RGC. It is designed to help transform the predominantly subsistence rice sector into a commercially oriented one by improving household and national food security and expanding rice export through (i) removing the legal and regulatory constraints inhibiting rice commercialization; (ii) improving productivity of paddy crops and consistency in quality of milled rice; (iii) enhancing rice

2 | P a g e value chain support services; and (iv) addressing risks of climate change through mitigation and adaptation. The Rice-SDP is operating in three provinces which have high levels of rice production, namely Battambang, Kampong Thom and Prey Veng Provinces.

3. During the design of the Rice-SDP, the inadequate capacities of the post-harvest infrastructure to handle the increasing volumes of wet paddy were identified as a serious constraint. The infrastructure to handle, dry and store, and transport the volumes of wet paddy is not sufficiently developed despite significant private investment in drying, storage and milling facilities in recent years. Establishment of PDS facilities are therefore one of the key activities under the Rice-SDP to help accommodate paddy supplies at peak periods after harvest to ensure better quality for processing and retained added value in Cambodia.

4. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) is the Executing Agency (EA) of the Rice- SDP and has established a Program Management Office (PMO). The PMO has established a PDS Selection Committee in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries/National Implementation Office (MAFF/NIO) and the three Provincial Implementation Offices (PIOs) who will participate in the entire PDS procurement process.

5. The Rice Millers eligible to avail the concessional loans from Rice-SDP to establish the PDS Facilities are selected following a cumbersome process. Upon receipt of the expression of interest (EOIs) from the Rice Millers, the PMO conducted a feasibility study through engaging an independent firm, assessed the Rice Millers’ PDS business proposals, and came up with a Final Ranking of the Rice Millers before employing a DD & CS (detailed design and construction supervision) firm to support the Rice Millers. The final ranking of the Rice Millers was endorsed by the PDS Selection Committee. The Phou Poy Rice Mill is ranked first in Battambang province and therefore got selected to avail the concessional loan for establishment of PDS Facility.

6. A revised IEE for the proposed PDS Facility for Phou Poy Rice Mill at the new location, Pou Pir Village, Kear Commune, Moung Ruessei District, Battambang Province, has been prepared covering all facets of environmental safeguards including policy principles, subproject scope, context and environment (physical, biological and socio-economic resources), anticipated environmental impacts and mitigation measures, analysis of alternatives, information disclosure, consultation and participation, grievance redress mechanism (GRM), a rapid environmental assessment, an environmental management plan (EMP), an environmental monitoring plan, institutional arrangement and responsibilities, etc. A brief description of the subproject area including socio-economic characteristics is described under para 7 & 8 below.

7. Battambang is long renown for quality rice, fruit and vegetable production. Farming is the main source of income for the majority of households in the subproject area, while other income is obtained from off-farm employment in construction, other industries, government employment, and trading. A minority of rural households derive income from fishing, though this activity is merely a supplementary activity for part of the year. Rice production is the mainstay of the rural economy in most areas. The total paddy production in Battambang province was about 836,925 tons out of which wet season production was 796,059 tons and that of the dry season was 40,866

3 | P a g e tons. 30% rice crop production in Battambang province depended on natural irrigation and irrigation, and 70% depended on rain water. Rice crop production has changed from traditional farming to mechanized farming through the use of modern agricultural equipment, rice seed, chemical fertilizer and pesticide, even though the increase in seasonal rice crop production is limited due to absence of irrigation facility (Source: Battambang Development Plan 2016-2018).

8. Many rural families do not have regular cash incomes, either because of access constraints, lack of landholdings and shortage of employment opportunities. Many families are dependent on remittances by family members working away from home, most often in the construction and garment industries and/or as overseas migrant workers. Alleviating poverty became RGC’s highest priority according to its Millennium Development Goals in 2008. Thereafter, sustained efforts by RGC led to the decrease in poverty rate from 47.8% in 2007 to 13.5% in 2014. But the rural poverty incidence where 90% of the poor live fell from 24.6% in 2009 to 20% in 2012. Based on the Battambang Development Plan, the poverty level in Moung Ruessei district of Battambang province where the proposed PDS Facility is located has reduced from 28.52% in 2010 to 22.10% in 2017 (Source: Battambang Provincial Department of Planning, 2018). The proposed PDS Facility is expected to significantly contribute to a qualitative improvement in the villagers living standards as they will get opportunity to expand their rice business as the Rice Miller will buy more paddy from them than earlier times, farmers will be able to save on transportation cost as they do not have to transport the paddy very far, and also they can work as labor at the Facility to earn income.

9. Following the endorsement by the PDS Selection Committee, both the PMO and the DD & CS firm worked with the Phou Poy Rice Mill and completed the initial survey for detailed design, verification of the proposed location, site layout for construction, system and process design, machine layout drawings, detailed design and specifications of equipment, and budget estimates for the Facility. The design was reviewed due to change in location proposed by the Rice Miller and the DD & CS firm confirmed that there will not be any changes to the current design of the Facility. The proposed PDS Facility shall be constructed on an area of 2,880m2 (around 0.29 hectare) of private land owned by Mr. Phou Poy, situated at the National Road No. 5, Pou Pir Village, Kear commune, Moung Ruessei District in Battambang province. The PDS Facility will be established on a single piece of 4.28 hectares of fully fenced land owned by the Rice Miller (land title issued by Provincial Department of Land Management and Urban Planning-“PDLMUPC”, Battambang, on 21 September 2016 attached as annex II). The proposed Facility will have a drying capacity of 300-800 tons per day (TPD) of wet paddy and the proposed works will mainly involve construction of a dryer of a size of 24 m x 60 m x 21 m (Width x Length x Height) and a storage building of a size of 24 m x 60 m x 17 m (Width x Length x Height). (See annex III: Detail Design of Phou Poy PDS Facility).

10. After completing the detailed design of the Facility, a Rice-SDP technical team comprising of MEF/PMO officials and consultants and IRE (DD&CS Consultant for establishment of PDS Facility) together with the provincial officials conducted a Public Consultation Meeting on social safeguards impact assessment for the proposed PDS Facility on the private land owned by Mr. Phou Poy, Owner of Phou Poy Rice Mill. The main focus of the assessment was to avoid risks

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(such as validation of private land title, boundary conflict with neighbors if any, safety during construction activities, and impact of new PDS facilities at the proposed site - see annex I: Minutes of Public Consultation Meeting) and support the Rice Miller to strengthen his/her safeguard systems and develop the capacity to manage environmental and social risks.

11. The Public Consultation Meeting was conducted on 11 June 2020 from 08:00-11:30AM with the participation of Villagers who have land and/or residences around the private land owned by Phou Poy Rice Mill, Village Chief, Commune Chief and Provincial Officials. A total of 36 Participants including 09 females participated in the meeting (see section V: List of participants). The meeting was chaired by H.E Chhim Sabonn, Provincial Program Director, PIO/Battambang Province.

12. The purpose of the Public Consultation Meeting was to disseminate information on the proposed establishment of PDS Facility for the participants to understand, raise issues/challenges that might arise due to the Facility, and contribute to the discussions/solutions for mitigating any possible negative effects due to the Facility. The meeting had the following objectives:

• Inform the participants on the establishment of PDS Facility • Present the detail design of the PDS Facility for Phou Poy Rice Mill • Discuss on the social safeguards requirements for the PDS Facility and conflict resolution, if any.

III. List of the key issues raised by participants

13. Participants did not raise any key social safeguard issues for the proposed PDS Facility for Phou Poy Rice Mill as the proposed Facility will be established well within the 4.28 hectares of fully fenced private land owned by Mr. Phou Poy, owner of the Phou Poy Rice Mill. The proposed site is surrounded by rice farms and no villagers live nearby. The land acquisition and resettlement (LAR) screening checklist is attached as annex IV. The issues/concerns raised by participants during the consultation meeting are described in brief below. The details can be found in Minutes of Public Consultation Meeting on social safeguard impact assessment for establishment of PDS Facility on private land owned by Mr. Phou Poy, Owner of Phou Poy Rice Mill as attached as annex I.

• Mr. Meas Seum, Kear Commune Chief, informed the meeting that the proposed land for PDS Facility legitimately and rightfully belongs to Mr. Phou Poy, owner of Phou Poy Rice Mill. He had bought the land from the villagers at the market price and did not have any dispute with his neighbors and/or villagers regarding his land boundary. He further mentioned that all the people from Kear commune has hard land titles. The land titles were issued in between 2016-2019.

• Mr. Ma Sareun, a villager from Pou Pir Village, participating in the discussion mentioned that working hours should not be a concern because nobody lives nearby the proposed

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site and if PDS Facility is established in the area, it will make people very happy. Mr. Brounh Sareum, Pou Pir Village Chief, intervened in the discussion and said that even though he is not concerned about working hours during construction, protection of workers and visitors who visit the construction site should be taken care of. To this, Mr. Phou Poy, owner of Phou Poy Rice Mill, promised to take necessary precautions related to the safety sign and ensuring use of safe materials for workers and visitors during the construction period. He added that he did not want to take any chance with his Rice Mill Business.

• H.E Chhim Sabonn, Provincial Program Director, PIO/BTB, who chaired the meeting, agreed with the commune chief and the owner of the rice mill on safety during construction. He mentioned that there need to be safety signs and barricade to allow only people who are related to the work.

14. During the public consultation meeting the issue of conflict resolution arose. Participants informed the meeting that if they have any concerns or conflict with Phou Poy Rice Mill in future, they would directly talk with Mr. Phou Poy or report to Village/Commune Chief or District Governor for solutions. The PMO informed the participants that there is a well-defined grievance redress and resolution mechanism (GRM) established in the project to resolve grievances and complaints in a timely and satisfactory manner. The GRM was then discussed in detail in the meeting. The PMO informed the participants that it will further disseminate the GRM through an effective public information campaign prior to and during the construction period. The grievance redress process includes four steps of which three are followed before complaints may be elevated to a court of law as a last resort (see Figure below).

(i) 1st step: Complaints and grievances will be provided verbally or in writing to the village chief and/or commune chief. The receiving agent will provide immediate written confirmation of receiving the complaint. If after 15 days the complainant does not hear from the village chief and/or commune chief or if he/she is not satisfied with the decision taken in the first stage, the complaint may be brought to the District Office.

(ii) 2nd step: The District Office in cooperation with the Provincial Implementation Office (PIO) representative and PDAFF officials has 15 days within which to resolve the complaint to the satisfaction of all concerned. If the complaint cannot be solved at this stage, the District Office will bring the case to the Provincial Governor Office (PIO) and/or Provincial Grievance Redress Committee (PGRC) and has to inform the complainant.

(iii) 3rd step: The PIO/PGRC in cooperation with the PMO Program Manager/Program Director meets with the aggrieved party and tries to resolve the situation within 30 days of receiving the complaint and to the satisfaction of all concerned. The PIO/PGRC will make a written decision and submit copies to the executing and implementing agency (MEF/PMO).

(iv) 4th step: If the aggrieved person does not hear from the PIO/PGRC or is not satisfied, s/he can bring the case to Provincial Court. The Court will make a written decision and submit

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copies to the executing agency and implementing agency. If any party is still unsatisfied with the Provincial Court judgment, he/she can bring the case to a higher- level court.

Figure: Grievance Redress Mechanism

Next Higher Court

Provincial court

YES Provincial Governor Office (PIO), PDAFF and/or

Grievanc Provincial Grievance Redress Committee (PGRC) with participation from PMO Program Manager/ Program Director. (if no result elevate to ) Resolution of Complaint ……

YES Meeting of the complainant with District Governor, Grievanc Provincial Implementation Office (PIO) Representative, PDAFF officials, Commune Chief, and Representative of

the Contractor (if no result elevate to Province level)

Meeting of the complainant-APs with Village Chief, YES Commune Chief and Site Manager of the Contractor (if Grievanc no result elevate to District level)

Complainant-APs and stakeholder inform Village Chief, Commune Chief, Site Manager of the Contractor (before elevate to the District)

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IV. Agreed actions/Conclusions

15. Both authorities and villagers expressed their happiness and were enthusiastic about the upcoming PDS Facility on the private land owned by Mr. Phou Poy, Owner of Phou Poy Rice Mill and they agreed with the points below: Mr. Meas Seum Kear Commune Chief • PDS Facility shall be established on the said “I support the Paddy Drying and private land owned by Phou Poy Rice Mill Storage Facility on the private land owned at the National Road No. 5, Pou Pir by Mr. Phou Poy, owner of Phou Poy Rice village, Kear commune, Moung Ruessei Mill because if the Phou Poy Rice Mill has district in Battambang province. new PDS Facility in our commune then he will increase buying more quantity of paddy rice to operate his Facility and • People especially villagers who have land villagers will get more profit from their next to the proposed site do not have any production. Also it will create employment issue with the new Facility being opportunity for local labors and reduce constructed at the proposed site as the migration of people to outside the village. Facility shall be established well within more, on behalf of Kear the private land owned by Phou Poy Rice What’s Commune, it is proud to have investors Mill. investing in the development of large-

scale rice mills in our territory. • At the construction site, restrictions will be ’’ put in place for villagers not related to the construction work but wanting to visit the construction site to avoid any untoward incidents and safety materials will be used during construction work.

• If the villagers have any concerns or conflict with Phou Poy Rice Mill in future, they would directly talk with Mr. Phou Poy or report to Village/Commune Chief or District Governor and follow the GRM for resolutions of their complaints, if any.

• The Rice Miller has applied and received the Environmental Protection Agreement from Provincial Department of Environment (PDOE), Battambang, as part of establishing the PDS Facility and improving the business operation performance to fulfill the Government’s requirements. (see annex V). The specific environmental management plan (EMP) addressing adequate mitigation measures to be implemented by the contractor especially during the construction of the PDS Facility is revised and will be attached to the contract document.

• To ensure that potential environmental/safeguard problems are detected and addressed appropriately, PMO will monitor and supervise the subproject through the DD and CS consultant to ensure contractors are properly implementing all environmental mitigation measures during construction stage as set out in the IEE and other environmental safeguards that stated in the construction contract documents. The PMO will also deploy the cross sectorial implementation consultants based at PMO to provide necessary backstopping in monitoring and supervision of the subproject. To ensure proper and timely implementation of the EMP and adherence to the agreed environmental/social safeguard

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covenants, the PMO will submit semi-annual progress reports to the ADB based on the monitoring and inspections data and the report will be disclosed on the ADB website.

• Overall, the proposed PDS Facility is whole heartedly welcomed and supported by the villagers and authorities at all levels. They understand that the Facility will significantly contribute to a qualitative improvement in the villagers living standards as they will get opportunity to expand their rice business as the Rice Miller could buy more paddy from them, farmers will be able to save on transportation cost as they do not have to transport the paddy very far, and also they can work as labor at the Facility to earn income. The Rice Miller currently employs 25 poor/vulnerable villagers including 13 women drawn from the surrounding areas of the existing Rice Mill such as Ek Phnom, Banann and Sangkae districts but a big majority is from the same village where the Rice Mill is located (Chumnik village, Anlong Vil commune, Sangkae district). Upon completion of the proposed PDS facilities at Pou Pir Village, Kear Commune, Moung Ruessei District, the Rice Miller estimates to engage at least 60-70 villagers (i.e. two times than the current level) of which he says 50-60% would be women.

V. Photographic Records

Discussion/Meeting Photos

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VI. List of Participants

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English Translated version

Project Name: Climate-Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development Program (Rice- SDP) Contract Name: Detailed Design and Construction Supervision of Paddy Drying and Storage (PDS) Facilities Contract No.: CON-FD/DD/CS (AGR2) (1)/Rice-SDP/MEF/CS/2018/04 Purpose: Public consultation meeting on Environment and Social Safeguards for establishment of PDS Facilities within Phou Poy Rice Mill land Venue/Location: Pou Pir village, Kear commune, Moung Ruessei district, Battambang province Date/Time: 11 June 2020 (8:30 am)

ប⟒ជីវ㿒ត掶ន Attendant Sheet

侶ម㿒រកូល និង ភេទ រួ侶ទី អងគ徶ព/េូមិ/ជ /㿒រ ុក ភលߒទូររ័ពទ ហរថភល޶ ល.រ 侶មߒល ួន Sex Position Village/Commune/District/Agency Phone Signature No. First and Last Number Name

1 Mao Kry M Department of Moung Ruessei District 095 866959 Agriculture

2 Brounh M Pou Mouy Village Moung Ruessei District 067 742002 Sareum Chief

3 Chhoum Thoek M Farmer Moung Ruessei District

4 Lim Sophal M Farmer Moung Ruessei District 092 530 546

5 Kim Channy M Farmer Kear 2, Moung Ruessei District 012 938 547

6 Yeum Vanak M Moung Ruessei Moung Ruessei District 012 866 946 District Officer

7 Chhorn Phou M Farmer Moung Ruessei District 012 228 620

8 Yeit Mao F Farmer Moung Ruessei District

9 Khon Samay F Farmer Moung Ruessei District

10 Nhean Sophal M Farmer Moung Ruessei District

11 Ly Lay M Farmer Kear Pir Village, Kear Commune 096 5514072

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12 Chhung F Farmer Kear Pir Village, Kear Commune 097 684 1582 Soknan

13 Ly Lang M Farmer Kear Pir Village, Kear Commune 097 205 8388

14 Ma Sareun M Farmer Pou Pir Village, Kear Commun 092 817 138

15 Pan Yaov M Village Chief Kear Pir 092 909 318

16 Pich Tho M Farmer Kear Pir 096 9597 339

17 Huy Vanthana M Farmer Kear Pir

18 Boeut Nhoem M Farmer Kear Pir

19 Hor Yuon F Farmer Kear Pir

20 Say Mao M Farmer Kear Pir Village, Kear Commune

21 Bou M District Land Moung Ruessei District 089 479933 Chandavuth Management Urban Planning and Construction Officer

22 Meas Seum M Commune Chief Kear Commune 071 9939 225

23 Heang Sophary M Administration Moung Ruessei District Office 089 950 445 Director

24 Chhim Sabonn M PIO/BTB Director BTB Provincial Office 099 94 2222

25 Ponh Odom M Deputy Chief BTB Provincial Department of 092 237 779 Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

26 Chhay Ry F Vice Chief BTB Department of Environment 092 746686

27 Chan Sothy M ISS/BTB-PIO Rice SDP 012 990 125

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28 Keat Sophana M IRE IRE 088 234 4442

29 Proum Kimhor M National Public PMO/Rice SDP 097 908787 Private Partnership Specialist

30 Phou Poy M Director/Owner Phou Poy Rice Mill 012 935 878

31 Phou Kim Eng F Phou Poy Rice Mill 012 579 908

32 Ly Chhip Lon F Phou Poy Rice Mill 012 998 122

33 Ith Michael M Phou Poy Rice Mill 012 525 707

34 Yem Ry M Vice Chief Pou Pir Village 089 68926

35 Kear Srey Sor F Farmer 088 4065 073

36 Sam Savoun F Environmental PMO/Rice SDP 012 723 774 Specialist

Total Participant: __36______(Female__09_____) Prepared by:

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Annex. I

Minutes of Public Consultation Meeting (PDS Facility for Phou Poy Rice Mill)

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MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND FINANCE

Program Management Office (PMO) Climate Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development Program (Rice-SDP)

Minutes of Public Consultation Meeting on Social Safeguard Impact Assessment for Establishment of Paddy Drying and Storage (PDS) Facility within Private Land of Phou Poy Rice Mill

Thursday (08:00-11:30AM), 11 June 2020 Pou Pir Village, Kear Commune, Moung Ruessei District, Battambang Province

Chair: H.E Chhim Sabonn, Provincial Program Director, PIO/Battambang

Participants: Villagers (people having rice farms around the Phou Poy Land), Village Chief, Commune Chief, PIO/BTB Program Director and Officers, BTB/PDAFF Officer, BTB/PDoE Officer, BTB/PDLMUPC Officer, MEF/PMO Officers and Consultants, IRE (DD&CS Consultant for establishment of PDS Facility) and Rice Miller.1 A total of 36 Participants including 09 females participated in the Public Consultation Meeting (see participants list as attached under section VI of the DDR).

Agenda

1.0 Objective of the Public Consultation Meeting 2.0 Opening Remark by Provincial Program Director, PIO/BTB 3.0 Presentation of Detail Design of proposed Phou Poy PDS Facility 4.0 Open Discussion on Social Safeguard for the proposed Phou Poy PDS Facility 5.0 Closing of the Meeting

Presentations, discussions, decisions, assignments and conclusion

1.0 Objective of the Meeting The purpose was to disseminate information on the proposed establishment of Paddy Drying and Storage (PDS) Facility for the participants to understand, raise issues/challenges that might arise due to the Facility, and contribute to the discussions/solutions for mitigating any possible negative effects due to the Facility. The meeting had the following objectives:

1 BTB= Battambang Province, DD&CS= detailed design and construction supervision firm, MEF= Ministry of Economy and Finance, PDAFF= Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, PDoE= Provincial Department of Environment, PDLMUPC= Provincial Department of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, PDS= Paddy Drying and Storage, PIO= Provincial Implementation Office, PMO= Program Management Office. 17 | P a g e

2.0 Opening Remark by Provincial Program Director, PIO/BTB

H.E Chhim Sabonn, Provincial Program Director, PIO/BTB, welcomed the MEF/PMO team (officials and consultants) and thanked the villagers, Village Chief, Commune Chief, Provincial officials, and Mr. Phou Poy (Rice Mill owner) and his colleagues for participating in this important meeting. He informed the participants about the Rice-SDP project and its objectives that is to boost rice production, improve quality of milled rice, increase export to the international market as well as to help solve problems of farmers due to lack of post-harvest facilities. He informed that Rice-SDP is going to provide loans to the private rice millers, who aim to invest in PDS Facilities and this meeting is related to that activity. He said that Battambang Province is able to dry paddy rice in between 4,000 to 5,000 tons per day but that also could not able to meet the demand of the province.

He informed the participants that Rice-SDP is going to provide loans to rice millers at different locations in Battambang, Kampong Thom and Prey Veng provinces to establish PDS Facilities. One of them is Phou Poy Rice Mill. Thus, this meeting is very important to study the impact of the social and environmental safeguards requirements to mitigate issues that might affect the people and avoid/resolve conflicts if any because development must go hand in hand with the welfare of the people. He then requested the Rice-SDP team to give presentation on the design of the Facility and asked participants to provide their comments and raise concerns on the effects of the Facility on their living and businesses if any. He requested all the participants to fully participate in the discussions to make the Facility a successful one.

3.0 Presentation of Detail Design of proposed Phou Poy PDS Facility Please see Annex III.

4.0 Open Discussion on Social Safeguard for proposed Phou Poy PDS Facility After the presentation on detail design, the Rice-SDP team presented the location/land proposed by Mr. Phou Poy for the construction of the PDS Facility. The team then raised the following points and/or queries for discussion with the participants:

4.1 Land Title: Does the land title submitted by Mr. Phou Poy as the proposed location of the PDS Facility belong to him? Does the proposed land have any conflict with neighbors? Is the accreditation issued by Authorities genuine?

In response to the queries, the participants replied as below:

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(1)- Mr. Phou Poy, owner of Phou Poy Rice Mill, informed the meeting that he owns about 4.28 hectares of land at the proposed PDS site. He has bought the land from villagers and got the hard land title in 2016. The proposed PDS Facility will be established on 0.29 hectares of these land.

(2)- Mr. Yem Ry, Village Chief, said that the proposed land legitimately and rightfully belongs to Mr. Phou Poy, owner of Phou Poy Rice Mill. He had bought the land from the villagers at the market price and did not have any dispute with his neighbors and/or villagers regarding his land boundary.

(3)- Mr. Meas Seum, Kear Commune Chief, said that Kear Commune announced registration of lands and started handing over of hard land title to people since 2016. The activity was completed in 2019 and now all the commune people have hard land title. He added that from the start to the end, he did not get any complaint regarding any land conflict.

(See Annex II: Phou Poy Land Title).

4.2 Establishment of PDS Facility: To explore the benefits and/or concerns that the participants might have for establishing a PDS Facility in their locality that might affect their living and/or daily life, especially for the people who live nearby the Facility, the Rice-SDP team raised the following queries:

• Do you have any concern on working hours for construction works at the site especially at night time? • Do you have any concern on safety due to construction and/or do you need any protection or signs to avoid any possible accidents/danger?

In response to the queries, the participants replied as below: 1. Mr. Ma Sareun, a villager from Pou Pir Village, mentioned that working hours should not be a concern because nobody lives nearby the proposed site and if PDS Facility is established in the area, it will make people very happy.

2. Mr. Brounh Sareum, Pou Pir Village Chief said that Cambodian people are clever and know the working hours and they would charge extra for any overtime work and they would not work for free of charge. So, he is not concerned about working hours during the construction. As for safety sign and safe materials, he said that even though the construction will be well within the private land of the rice mill, protection for workers and visitors who visits the construction site should be taken care of.

3. Mr. Pan Yaov, a villager who has rice farm nearby Phou Poy Land, said that on behalf of villagers he would request Mr. Phou Poy to keep some space to be used

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by villagers who have rice farms behind Mr. Phou Poy Land for transporting their paddy rice products to the national road No 5.

4. Mr. Phou Poy, owner of Phou Poy Rice Mill, said that he will take necessary precautions related to the safety sign and ensure use of safe materials for workers and visitors during the construction period. He added that he did not want to take any chance with his Rice Mill Business. He further promised that he will keep some space at the left side of his land so that people can use it for transporting their paddy rice products to the national road No 5.

5. Mr. Heang Sophary, Administration Chief of Moung Ruessei District Office said that at the moment nobody is living nearby the proposed Facility but once the Facility is operational people may move and start to live nearby it. He advised Mr. Phou Poy to come up with a future plan and start discussing about it with relevant stakeholders.

Continuing the discussions, the Rice-SDP team proposed the participants to discuss the benefits of establishing a new PDS Facility in the locality and how to resolve conflicts if any in the future. To kick start the discussion, the team proposed following queries:

o Do you prefer to have a PDS Facility on the site proposed by Phou Poy Rice Mill? o Do you think PDS Facility will benefit farmers or villagers in general? o If you have any conflict with Phou Poy Rice Mill, whom do you report to for resolution? o Do you have any idea on solving any of the concerns?

Both authorities and people expressed their happiness and were enthusiastic about the upcoming PDS Facility inside the land owned by Phou Poy Rice Mill. They mentioned that the PDS Facility would benefit most of the villagers as they cultivate rice and the rice miller could buy more paddy from them, farmers would be able to save on transportation cost as they did not have to transport far, and also their sons/daughters could work as labor at the Facility to earn income. The participants added that they are not concerned about the perceived negative points on establishment of PDS Facility on the private land owned by Mr. Phou Poy, Owner of Phou Poy Rice Mill as they will get opportunities to expand their rice business. The participants said that if they have any concerns in the future, they would directly talk to Mr. Phou Poy or report to Village/Commune Chief or District Governor for solutions.

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Participating in the discussion Mr. Phou Poy Mr. Meas Seum, Kear Commune Chief said that he has upgraded his business from said “I support the Paddy Drying and family scale to commercial scale and he is Storage Facility on the private land taking care of peoples’ welfare and owned by Mr. Phou Poy, owner of Phou environment. He also confirmed that he Poy Rice Mill because if the Phou Poy would be happy to discuss with people and Rice Mill has new PDS Facility in our authority to solve any problem arising due to commune then he will increase buying the PDS Facility. He informed the meeting more quantity of paddy rice to operate that the Rice Mill currently employs 25 his Facility and villagers will get more poor/vulnerable villagers including 13 profit from their production. Also, it will women and they are from different areas of create employment opportunity for local Battambang such as Ek Phnom, Banann labors and reduce migration of people and Sangkae districts but a big majority is to outside the village’. What’s more, on from the same village where the Rice Mill is behalf of Kear Commune, it is proud to located (Chumnik village, Anlong Vil have investors investing in the commune, Sangkae district). He mentioned development of large-scale rice mills in that after completion of the proposed PDS our territory. ’’ facilities at Pou Pir Village, Kear Commune, Moung Ruessei District, he will engage workers two times than the current level i.e. around 60-70 villagers of which he expects women to be around 50-60% of the work force.

5.0 Closing of the Meeting

H.E Chhim Sabonn, Provincial Program Director, PIO/BTB, congratulated all the participants for sharing ideas related to Social and Environmental Safeguards for the establishment of PDS Facility on private land owned by Mr. Phou Poy, Owner of Phou Poy Rice Mill. He suggested that if participants have any issue with Phou Poy Rice Mill, they should report to the village or commune chief or directly talk with the owner or his management staffs for resolutions. He agreed with the commune chief and the owner of the rice mill that for safety during construction, there need to be safety signs and also barricade to allow only people who are related to work. At the end, he thanked all the participants, local authorities, Rice-SDP team, provincial team and Mr. Phou Poy for participating in this important meeting and for a fruitful outcome.

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Annex. II

Land Title of Phou Poy Rice Mill

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Annex. III

Detail Design of PDS Facility for Phou Poy Rice Mill (Presented During Public Consultation Meeting)

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Annex. IV

Land Acquisition and Resettlement (Social-Screening Checklist for Phou Poy Rice Mill)

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Annex. V

Environmental Protection Agreement

(Provincial Department of Environment, Battambang & Phou Poy Rice Mill)

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Kingdom of Cambodia Un-official Translation Nation Religion King

Environmental Protection Agreement

I am Ith Michael, age 38 years old, Cambodia Nationality, ID Card: 170565814 dated 26 January 2011; Expiry date: 26 January 2021, Permanent Address: 20 Uksaphea Village, Sangkat Prek Preah Sdach, Krong Battambang, Battambang Province, Representative of Phou Poy Rice Mill.

To: Director of Battambang Provincial Department of Environment

To contribute to environmental protection in the process of social development, I do the following environmental commitments to Battambang Provincial Department of Environment for Phou Poy Rice Mill business operation located in Pou Pir Village, Kear Commune, Moung Ruessei District, Battambang Province, as below:

Provision 1. Ensure management of dust and debris (rice, maize ash, rice husk) from the production line by installing appropriate technology and equipment to filter dust and reduce the health effects on neighboring residents.

Provision 2. Ensure management of temporary ash stockpile and regularly spray water or make surrounding wall to protect the area from becoming dusty.

Provision 3. Ensure minimization of noise, vibration, dust, and odor release due to rice mill operation and avoid health hazards to workers and people living nearby due to the release.

Provision 4. Ensure the management of garbage (ash and sacks), do not dispose off the garbage in public places or areas near the source of water thereby affecting the public order, aesthetic and also people who have residences nearby.

Provision 5. Ensure management of oil wastes and accessories from repairs, do not dispose off in public places or areas near the sources of water thereby causing leakage or damage to water sources.

Provision 6. Ensure management of the wastes from guests, workers and kitchen wastes wby properly employing trash bins and set up storage tanks for other solid wastes within the rice mill compound.

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Provision 7. Ensure traffic management at the entrance and exit gates to avoid traffic jam and traffic accidents.

Provision 8. Ensure management of temporary parking lots (proper parking of trucks and truck waiting area) to avoid disorder or harming to neighbors.

Provision 9. Allow Environmental Officer from Battambang Provincial Department of Environment who has valid mission letter to inspect the rice mill site every 30 days to advise on pollution control in the environment.

Provision 10. In case the department or the Ministry of Environment requires me to modify any environmental techniques to comply with the new guidelines and standards, I would completely agree to the guidelines.

Provision 11. Volunteer to contribute 400,000 Riels per year as environmental fee to Battambang Provincial Department of Environment.

Provision 12. This agreement is valid for one year from the date of this agreement. 30 days prior to the expiry of this agreement, I will submit a request for renewing the agreement to Battambang Provincial Department of Environment for the new term.

Provision 13. In the case that I failed to comply with any provision or contrary to this agreement, I shall be fully responsible under the relevant Cambodian Laws, especially Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Law.

No. 291/Bor.S thor.khor.Bor Seen and Verified BTB Date: 30.06.2020 Seen and Approved To Director of PDOE Thumb Print BTB Date: 30.06.2020 BTB Date: 30.06.2020 Director of PDOE Chief of Environmental Protection Office Ith Michael

Kort Boran Kong Vannak

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Annex. VI

Request Letter from Phou Poy Rice Mill for Relocation of PDS Facility

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Kingdom of Cambodia Un-official Translation Nation Religion King

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I, Ith Michael, representing the owner of Phou Poy Rice Mill, located in Chumnik Village, Anlong Vil Commune, Sangkae District, Battambang Province.

TO: H.E Ros Seilava, Secretary of State, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Program Director of Climate Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development (Rice-SDP)

Subject: Request for relocation of PDS Facility establishment from Chumnik Village, Anlong Vil Commune, Sangkae District to Pou Pir Village, Kear Commune, Moung Ruessei District, Battambang Province (about 30km from previous PDS location)

Attachment: (i) Hard Land Title No 02060205-0081 (ii) People’s Complaint Letter

As stated above, I would like to inform his excellency, the Secretary of State and Program Director of Rice-SDP that on May 25, 2020, I received notification from Chumnik village chief and Anlong Vil commune chief (as attached) that 7 families from the village registered their complaint opposing the construction of new PDS Facility (under the Rice-SDP) inside the Phou Poy Rice Mill business compound due to possible dust nuisances from expansion of rice mill operation that may affect their daily life. The village chief and the commune chief requested us to relocate the Facility. Therefore, to honor the request of the village chief and the commune chief and to avoid conflict with the people living in the area, I would like to request honorable Program Director in granting permission to Phou Poy Rice Mill to relocate the PDS Facility to the new place accordingly.

Date: 30 May 2020

Ith Micheal

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